Specialty np

[Oanp]

Any advice on an agnp that has been in specialty pain since graduating who is trying to expand Resume but with No experience in primary care? Think the whole use it or lose it thing has gotten to me and limited my prospects

[djmatte, ADN, MSN, RN, NP]

Will need to sell yourself on how you utilized your education to assess more than just pain. There are many primary care disease processes that impact pain and your ability to properly h&p are important. Also if you gained any additional knowledge such as injections, you could potentially bring that to the table for procedure options.

[Oanp]

Ok Thanks. I'll tweak the resume to reflect.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

One of my clinical rotations was in a pain management clinic. It was not a "pill mill."

1. Thorough histories are key.

2. Chronic pain can be very complex, as it often involves an interplay among physical, mental, and even socioeconomic issues. Chronic pain can be the result of multiple causes. We had to address all of these issues. For example, an individual suffering from chronic pain can also suffer from depression, anxiety, poor sleep and difficulty with ADLs and work.

3. We performed thorough physical exams that included musculoskeletal and neuro components.

4. Our chronic pain patients came in once a month, and the pain clinic became their de factor primary care provider. That required being able to answer questions about a lot of other conditions, recognize them, and make appropriate referrals.

Finally, pain is a very common presentation at primary care clinics and most would welcome your knowledge of this. In addition, pain is often a chronic condition, which gives you chronic disease management experience - important for primary care.

Good luck.

[Oanp]

Thanks for your response. U r absolutely right! Can definitely use that and get comprehensive